Zeng Fanzhi and Jack Ma pose with their oil painting entitled "Paradise." (Photo : www.wantchinatimes.com)
A collaborative oil painting entitled "Paradise" made by Jack Ma and Zeng Fanzhi has been sold in an auction at the Sotheby's Hong Kong branch. The artwork sold for HK$36 million ($4.6 million).
Jack Ma is the founder and executive chair of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba while Zeng Fanzhi is a contemporary Chinese artist.
The painting was bought by a telephone bidder 7 minutes after the bidding had started, and secured the sale 27.69 times higher compared to its original price of HK$1.3 million ($167,700).
"Paradise" is a depiction of a Utopian planet Earth. It was created to raise environmental awareness.
The auction's proceeds will be sent to the Paradise International Foundation, which was founded by a Chinese group of business leaders. Jack Ma also chairs the organization along with Tencent's chair and founder, Ma Huateng.
Zeng and Ma completed the piece on a circular canvas for two hours. During the process, Zeng mentored Ma, who had no experience in oil painting.
In 2013, Zeng created an oil painting of The Last Supper and got HK$180 million ($23 million) for the work at Sotheby's. The sale became a new record for contemporary Chinese artwork.
The oil painting auction was just an addition to Ma's philanthropic portfolio. He is the man behind the first non-government natural reserve in the Pingwu County made possible by his foundation that focuses on environmental protection in Sichuan. Together with local businessmen, they founded the endeavor in 2010.
Ma raised $15 million for the China Global Conservation Fund, which he founded in Washington, D.C., in 2011.
He also helped set up an air and water conservation fund in China with the National Geographic Society in April 2012.
In May 2013, Ma relinquished his post as the CEO of Alibaba and pledged devotion over environmental education and protection. A percentage of Alibaba's revenue automatically goes to environmental protection charities annually, and it is estimated that the e-commerce giant has donated 77.26 million yuan ($12.1 million) to a number of these programs.
